Pacquiao-Cintron matchup can never be justified. Ever.

The only lingering memory I have of former welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (32-3, 28 KOs) is when he got felled by a stinging left hook to the body by Antonio Margarito (38-7, 28 KOs) in what would be Cintron’s latest title fight, his third defense of the IBF welterweight crown over three years ago. Since then,it has been an unremarkable comeback for the still young boxer, with his last outing resembling an unsightly technical decision loss to Paul Williams.

Now, considering Cintron’s record and his achievements and misses, it woud be hard to ignore him from the boxing landscape, especially if you are looking at the rosters that fill the welterweight to middleweight divisions. A rematch with Paul Williams or a third encounter with Antonio Margarito or even a clash with Miguel Cotto can be easily justified. (Margarito and Cotto are now scheduled for a rematch in November)

But pitting him against Manny Pacquiao, the best fighter in the world today, is a seemingly highly ambitious plot, even for the casual boxing fans. For one, Cintron needs to re-validate himself after losing to Williams nearly a year ago. Two, Cintron is way out of Pacquiao’s league. And three, the boxing world deserves a Pacquiao fight with the opposition named Floyd Mayweather.

I don’t see Cintron as a has-been, washed-up fighter. On the contrary, Cintron still has so many left in the tank and he could probably regain the opportunity to fight in a world title match and win a major world crown in the process. With so many names in the 147-160 pound limits, Arum can just pick a name to match Cintron with.

Pitting a comebacking Cintron with former welterweight champon Joshua Clottey or current light middleweight titleholder Cornelius Bundrage would be a more accepted deal than a shot at the Pacman. The business side of boxing promotions would say that a Pacquiao-Cintron fight is a sure moneymaker for Top Rank and Uncle Bob. But fans have a breaking point too, even if it’s a Pacquiao fight.

Pacquiao-Cintron in the future? I don’t think so. At this point, Cintron needs to reestablish himself and cover lost ground. But even if he does, he is still way below Pacquiao’s grade to be even considered. Way below.

Kenneth Ragpala Kenneth P. Ragpala is an award-winning sports blogger who has been covering the sport of boxing since 2008. His works have appeared in local newspapers in his home city in Cagayan de Oro and in several online publications abroad.
Ragpala has written for several boxing websites, namely Fight Hype, 8 Count News, and Bleacher Report.

marlon

thats absolutely correct. see one reason why arum want to match pacquiao with cintron. Cintron win UD versus martinez. For me it’s a tune up for martinez and pacquiao fight

Penny And1

Cintron is good for a warm-up, but he has to stand behind a line of other warm-upers: Zab Judah, Maidana, Bradly, Ortiz, Mayorga…and list goes on & on…

After Mosley, it’s Pacman vs Marquez. After Marquez hopefully Floyd grows some balls and accept a fight with Pacman. Finally Pacman should try to consider Martinez. Martinez is beatable for Pacman.

True

My Sentiment Exactly!

JOFREY

Pacquiao-Cintron? Oh no, please! That’s too much for the fight fans, we don’t deserve it. Cintron is a coward boxer, I just remember when he fought (more technically ran) against Paul Williams – it’s a greatest cowardice ever in the history of boxing. He will do a dramatic tangle of feet, and throw himself on outside, while saving his skull and spinal, after that, acting that he’s terribly hurt, it’s a great plan to finish early the fight, and get the pay check as easy as it could be – clear cheating against paying public. This Cintron, destroys the image of boxing industry.

Bunny

Cintron’s a good stay busy fight for Pacquiao. He’s got the size, range and power to make it interesting, and he’s there to be hit all day. Manny can definitely beat this guy and I can imagine that he can even light him up en route to a stoppage. But at this point in Manny’s career though, he should only be taking career defining fights. I’d love to see Manny face Mayweather. But as of late, Floyd’s been too busy beating up girls instead of making the fights people want to see.

Bunny

Anyone is “beatable” buddy. Even Klitchko can be beaten and has been. Maravilla got stopped at 147 by Margacheato. Martinez walks around at 200 pounds nowadays and is better suited to fight at 160. Pacquiao won’t get credit for beating him cause he’ll have to suck down to a grossly unconscionable catch weight. And that’s a Big IF he beats him at all… Stylistically, Martinez would be a nightmare for Manny. The former just has too many advantages in terms of size, power, and skills going into that fight. Manny can win against him of course. It’s just not likely though. It’s a classic great little guy vs great big guy. In this case, Martinez has the edge. But again, stranger things have happened.